Reduced serum BDNF levels are associated with the increased risk for developing MDD: a case–control study with or without antidepressant therapy

Table 1 The characteristics, clinical features, and laboratory findings of the study population

Parameter	Controls (n = 82)	All patients (n = 85)	Drug-naive patients (n = 41)	Drug-treated patients (n = 44)	p^a value	p^b value	p^c value	p^d value
Age in years	31.13 ± 1.82	33.37 ± 1.10	34.13 ± 1.50	32.64 ± 1.63	0.300	0.207	0.545	0.504
Gender (F/M)	50/32	48/37	26/15	31/13	0.572	0.732	0.851	0.635
BMI (kg/m²)	24.83 ± 0.75	26.60 ± 0.65	25.18 ± 0.90	27.97 ± 0.87	0.137	0.779	0.112	0.142
Ham-D score	4.96 ± 0.55	19.96 ± 0.29	23.90 ± 0.42	11.01 ± 0.43	0.000*	0.000*	0.000*	0.008*
Serum BDNF (pg/mL)	723.77 ± 78.36	578.62 ± 44.65	387.80 ± 70.44	651.21 ± 69.24	0.083	0.002*	0.105	0.009*

Age, BMI, Ham-D score, and the value of BDNF are shown in mean ± SEM. F/M, female/male; BMI, body mass index; Ham-D, 17-item Hamilton depression rating scale; p^a, comparisons between controls and all patients; p^b, comparisons between controls and non-treated patients; p^c, comparisons between controls and treated patients; p^d, comparisons between non-treated and treated patients
*P < 0.05 (Significant difference between patient and control groups at 95% confidence interval)

ISSN: 1756-0500